In her first interview since allegations of sexual misconduct ended Matt Lauer’s run at NBC’s “Today” show in November, former cohost Katie Couric told People magazine that the often lurid details of his actions “was not the Matt we knew.”

“The whole thing has been very painful for me,” Couric told the magazine in an interview that ran Saturday. “The accounts I’ve read and heard have been disturbing, distressing and disorienting and it’s completely unacceptable that any woman at the “Today” show experienced this kind of treatment.

“I had no idea this was going on during my tenure or after I left,” she said.

Couric went on to describe Lauer as a “kind and generous colleague” in her experience, and expressed admiration for how the “very difficult situation” was handled by current “Today” anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.